Casio Edifice EQWT720DC-1A Watch Review

It appears to me as though Japanese watch makers Citizen and Casio are in a fight. Both of them are doing appreciably better than competitor Seiko, and they are also both pushing forward with highly multi-functional analog watches. These are developments based on years of success with multi-function digital watches. I get the appeal of digital watches that offer a range of features, but their analog counterparts are a mixed bag.

On the one hand, a proof of concept that "all these features can be used via a purely analog display" is a good thing. That these watches work with their many motorized hands is impressive. On paper, multi-function quartz movement-based analog watches sound fantastic. In practice they are often too complicated to be picked up and simply played with. Their appeal is in using a few basic features and playing with the rest from time to time... while having a complex-looking timepiece that looks cool. This is the hallmark of the Casio Edifice collection - a range of watches trying to capitalize on the extremely deserved success of digital Casio watches in a more fashionable analog form. The resulting success varies from model to model. In true Japanese fashion, Casio releases new Edifice (and other) models each year. It can be difficult to tell some of them apart, and more difficult to determine what features one has over another. Unlike Swiss watches whose designs can be very distinct and their functions clear, part of the fun of getting a cool Japanese watch is trying to understand what makes them all different. This is a review of the new for 2012 Casio Edifice EQWT720DC-1A. Let's see what it's got.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_AP94vr6sU]

"Operation Guide 5262" (which you can download here) is the user manual for the Casio Edifice EQWT720DC-1A watch. Casio doesn't actually list the manual by model number, but by some less intuitive module number. The reason for that is likely to do with the fact that the same watches may have different model numbers in different countries. At least Seiko does that. Just another of those Japanese watch maker curiosities that we like to mull over. The operation guide is about nine pages long with rich details and pages full of diagrams and instructions. That is what you'll need to study in order to use this watch. I would like to say that you can pick up this and many other multi-function analog watches and use them intuitively - but we aren't there yet. At the same time, the feature set and options are very robust and the little things you can do with the watch are impressive. For instance there is a feature to let you swap the home and local times if you like. But again, good luck trying to figure out how to do that on your own.

In essence, this Casio Edifice EQWT720DC-1A watch has a few key features. It has the time, full calendar (date, and day of the week are displayed on the dial), daily alarm, 1/100 of a second chronograph, and world time function. In addition to that, the movement is light powered, synchronizes with each of the six atomic clock radio signals around the world and has a Casio "Tough Movement" which offers the ability for the hands to be re-positioned automatically if they are misaligned due to a shock to the case. That is a lot of technology and features. Ideally, you don't need to learn how to use most of them. If you do, then I highly suggest carrying the manual around with you. Perhaps that isn't necessary if this is your daily wearer, but for a guy like me who has a lot of watches in rotation, I will never recall how to use all the functions. Even setting the time is a complex dance of moving hands and button wrangling.

The case is in typical Edifice form and actually wears smaller than its over 47mm wide width would suggest. The case is water resistant to 100 meters and is black IP coated steel. The case appears to have four pushers and a crown, but the crown is actually used to move the inner rotating bezel - which is basically the same as a inner rotating diver's bezel. That was a neat addition to the piece that was less than expected. Casio attempts to label the buttons for ease of use but they are used to do different things in different modes. The dial has seven hands and a date indicator window. Once again, the hands are used to do different things in different modes - which is the key to understanding how this watch is able to do so much. On the default "screen," the watch shows you the time, 24 hour time or second time zone, date, and day of the week. I highly suggest just leaving it at that.

For the money, the dial is spectacularly detailed - a feat only the Japanese can seem to accomplish these days. Also, the dial needs to be designed to allow light to pass through to charge the movement. The multi-level look of the dial is handsome and retains as much legibility as possible. Casio thankfully applied lume on the hour markers as well as the hour and minute hands. I like to get swept away in all the little markers, indexes, notations, and reference points. I don't necessarily want to use them all, but I do enjoy simply looking at these and other Edifice watches. The good side and the bad side of watches like this is that they are still designed by hardcore watch nerd engineers. These guys really to everything possible to ensure full functionality will never be removed from their creations.

Aesthetically, the Casio Edifice EQWT720DC-1A is a good-looking watch - especially the dial. The case is more-or-less the same as many of its brothers and sisters, but the dial is symmetrical and interesting. It has a "gee-whiz" gadgety feel that looks cool for sport or casual purposes. While the dial does have lume, it lacks a dedicated backlight - I would have appreciated that function. While Edifice watches are inherently more slick looking than their digital counterparts, you still can't get rid of the geek factor. Sorry Casio. I don't claim that to be a bad thing, but these watches simply look like a more mature and socially acceptable gadget watch. Casio attempted to make a suit and tie version of these pieces with the Oceanus collection - but the same rules apply. You simply can't take the spirit of the micro-engineer out of these timepieces. Citizen however has done a slightly better job at that, but Casio still has the edge when it comes to a more youthful look.

All of what I am saying is more than clear to Casio - who has put in a huge amount of effort into making their brand look a bit more hip. The Casio G-Shock collection, for example, has relationships with popular music stars and other urban heroes. The Casio G-Shock is still the brand's most phenomenal success, but watch collections like the Casio Edifice are a natural step up as you don't want bright-yellow plastic watches all the time. With futuristic looking dial designs and durable metal cases, these are "cool guy" versions of the G-Shock and Pathfinder collections. Though it takes a bit of a nerd to appreciate and understand all the high-tech features these pieces have. If you do go ahead and get yourself this reference EQWT720DC-1A or any other Edifice model, I highly suggest taking the time to study the manual a bit. Hell, you'll have to anyways in order to set the time. Price for this Casio Edifice EQWT720DC-1A watch retails for $580, and you can purchase one from Casio here.

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Fueled by an unshakable love for horology and a general curiosity for intricate things, Ariel Adams founded aBlogtoWatch in 2007 as a means of sharing his passion. Since then, ABTW has become the highest trafficked blog on luxury timepieces, and Ariel has become a contributor to other online publications such as Forbes, Departures and Tech Crunch, to name just a few. His conversational writing style and inclusive attitude brings a wider appreciation for watches the world over, and that's just the way he likes it.
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The dial looks too cluttered; not unusual for Casios. I admire all the clever functions but it still looks like a cheap watch to me, something a kid or a teenager might be able to pull off. What irks me the most about Casio watches is their fit and finish is just inferior to Citizen and Seiko. Look at the polish under a loupe, or for that matter look at an Oceanus – the polish (while shiny) often appears pitted as if worked on by a very tiny ball peen hammer. There are other things too like slightly misaligned indices, burrs and leftover seams from molding. You can do better for close to $600.

nateb123

Ulysses31 It looks cheap because you can get the same movement in a slightly more sporty look for $300. It’s the G-Shock Aviation series: GW3000 or GW4000.

Ulysses31

nateb123 Ulysses31 I just Googled that; it does have a better look and the marketing blurb certainly makes it sound like a watch to be taken seriously.

http://Maximilien.org Maximilien

I have two Casios (two of only three quartz I own and never wear). One Casio is a previous version of Edifice and the other is a Ti Pathfinder (now called ProTrek). Agree mostly with Ariel, the Edifice is pretty hard to use, you really need to cary the manual with you and keep reading the tiny instruction to do anything but read time and date. I bought it since I was happy with Pathfinder but now I think the Edifice is pretty useless. The fit and finish is also lousy… The Pathfinder on the other hand is marvelous for its many features and ease of use. While I hardly use it at all, it’s the watch I’d take with me if I knew I would be cast away on a desert island… This (Pathfinder) is build like a rock, light, and chockfull of features (you name it, compass, barometer, altitude, world time, perpetual calendar, chronograph, etc.).

http://Maximilien.org Maximilien

Also, click post too fast, it connects with atomic clocks and recharges battery with light (sun or regular). One amazing piece of electronic in a 47mm round case that wears more like 44mm.

Cooperj1

Too busy for me… although I think my son (high school) would like it since he currently wears a Casio daily… No disrespect to the Casio fans.

Hacker4748

I have this watch and I really like it, especially that it’s mostly set and forget – radio controlled, solar charging, hand auto adjust. For daily operation it’s not dissimilar from Casio digital watches, so who has experience with those should not have too many problems to adjust to this one.

VanNuys

But what time is it . . . .?

36777merah

EDIFICE I have written ‘fd cases in china’ is my EDIFICE watch from casio china or origional?

I bought this watch largely based on this review! While I enjoyed it, I finally sold it because of a few flaws:
1. The face is very difficult to read, largely because of the monochromatic color scheme — in particular the black second hand, which was a terrible design decision on Casio’s part, since the second hand plays such an important role in so many functions. (The red tip makes little difference.) The European version of the same watch has a white second hand and is significantly easier to read as a result.
2. The watch motor is quite slow, making even simple mode changes tedious. Watching the hands move from one position to the next is fun the first time, a chore the second, and makes it difficult to enjoy the watch thereafter.
3. The black case and band, while they seem sophisticated at first, are indistinguishable from plastic/resin from a distance, making the watch look cheap.
4. The atomic clock radio is very finicky, and won’t work from most locations.
5. The lume is so weak as to be nearly useless.
6. The 24-hour counter at 6 o’ clock is impossible to interpret, even after you understand what the designers intended.
I replaced the watch I sold with another Edifice, so I haven’t given up on the brand. But I’d stick with 2014 models — or if you like the layout of this one, spring for the European version, which comes on a lovely silver stainless steel bracelet.